The Bath Theatre Matters Conference

Details

Firstly, THANK YOU for your continued support. I don't say it often enough but it really does mean a lot to have so many great supporters in Bath. Things really are going from strength to strength at the moment within the theatre community as a whole in Bath. This is mainly thanks to all of YOUR dedication and the fact that so many of you give up your free time to help produce and promote fabulous productions...

That being said - now it's my turn to ask you for help!

As I'm sure you're all aware the Bath Theatre Matters conference is edging ever nearer (for those of you living in a theatrical bubble it's on Tuesday 29 October from 2pm - 9pm at the Guildhall Bath).

Plans are well underway and I think it's going to be a really exciting event that champions ALL theatre within this region.

How can you help (I hear you cry in raised theatrical voices from the stalls)?

What I need is volunteers to help on the day of the event and a few in the lead up to it to help with poster distribution and publicity. If every group within Bath could supply a couple of volunteers to help with tasks such as meeting and greeting guests, registration, stewarding etc then it would help a great deal. The bonus is you will get free entry to the event and I'll make sure you're fed and watered throughout. It can be just an hour or you can be there all day - every little helps.

If you are interested please get in touch with me and I can give you more information, (email info@theatrebath.co.uk)

Information on ALL Groups Within BathIt has been decided that we won't ask theatre companies for sponsorship of this event. We want everyone to be on an even-footing and be represented equally as I believe every group or venue is as equally as important as the others (controversial I know!). But what we will provide you is an equal space on display boards at the Guildhall where you can show information about you or your company, forthcoming show flyers and most importantly contact information of key people within the organisation so that if people wish to join you or find out more about you they can get in touch.

We will be producing a glossy A4 brochure which will contain information on ALL the events during the day, keynote speakers, sponsors etc. At the back we are planning to have a directory of local companies and venues. What I need from you is up-to-date information from every group so that it can go in there. What I need is: Group/Company/Venue Name. A contact name, number and email. Links to social media and websites etc and a couple of sentences about what you do. Everyone will have the same amount of space so please don't send me any essays as they won't be used.

Showcase of Local WorkAt the end of the conference will be an hour long showcase which will contain work produced by local companies. If you have a piece that you would like us to include in this showcase then please get in touch. Slots will fill up super fast so it's important to contact us ASAP if you wish to be involved with this. We are asking for extracts of up to 10 minutes in length - this can be drama, singing or dancing. As long as it's theatrical and is created by a local company (whether youth, community or professional). Please get in touch to book a slot and let us know what it is you plan to do, a rough length and an idea of how many people will be involved.

How Can You Get More Involved With Theatre Bath?We are now an official organisation - wahoo! We have a bank account and a constitution. What I do need is more people to help with the running of Theatre Bath. This doesn't have to be a huge commitment but as we move forwards it is important that it becomes a member-led organisation. It's time for you as members to get more involved and tell us where you want us to go in the future, what more we can do to support theatre in Bath, any training or events that you would like to see happening etc. I would like to eventually have an official board of directors to join those of us already working behind the scenes to make things happen and representatives from all the different groups to feedback to us and lead us into the future. If you would be interested in having a more hands-on approach to Theatre Bath please get in touch and we can discuss in more details what this entails.

Web and Content EditorsMy time is becoming more and more restricted and I'm struggling to keep on top of all the website updates, press releases and events diary. This isn't a bad thing - Theatre Bath is becoming more and more used by local companies (which is fabulous - keep it up) the downside is that it's increasing the workload considerably for me. What I need are a few volunteers that can take responsibility for certain areas of the site and updating it. For example I would love someone to take on the uploading of events to the diary, someone to upload interviews, someone to upload press releases etc. The roles would be voluntary but could be done once a week for an hour or so. Or just as much time as people can afford to give.

The site itself is REALLY EASY to update. It's based on WordPress and is in a WYSIWYG editor - basically if you can use Word you can update the site - it's no more complicated than that.

The other alternative is that I create logins for anyone who wants to upload their own content and you take responsibility for that. I'm quite happy to do a combination of the two.

So if you are anyone else you know is interested in helping with the general up-keep of the website and getting some experience of content editing then please do get in touch with me.

And finally, (for now)...

Sponsors:We are still on the look-out for more sponsors for the conference. We can offer attractive deals for anyone interested in supporting us either financially or with in-kind support. If you can think of any local businesses or individuals who may be interested in sponsorship please do let us know or get them to contact us.

Thank you again for your time and support and I'm sure I'll speak to you again soon.